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regional wrap-up THE WEST MORE 'STEPS' NEEDED TO KEEP B.C. WOMEN IN STRIDE A report by a Law Society of British Columbia task force on retaining women in law has called its prepared case model only a "first step" or a "why" women should be retained. "Additional steps" or initiatives to develop the 'how' are needed and the LSBC should consider implementing potential pro- grams, expanding on existing ones, and working with outside agencies, the task force's report urges. The 17-page report by the retention of women in law task force, chaired by Kathryn Berge, is a rallying cry for systemic changes at a time when the legal system itself is undergoing changes and challenges. While Berge's task force was originally charged with creating a business case model for convincing firms to retain women, it fell short of the overall problem. Berge's committee states "that focusing on retention alone could, in fact, help create a 'glass ceiling'" and that "best practices for the advancement of women are of equal importance and are strategi- cally linked to the retention of women in private practice." According to the report, in the past decade, women entered DIVERSITY REPORT the profession in numbers equal to or greater than men but they represent only 34 per cent of practising lawyers and 29 per cent of full-time private practitioners. It shows similar trends and analysis to a report last year by the Law Society of Upper Canada in Ontario — noting women oſten get pigeonholed into certain areas of practice and are oſten cut out of the plum corporate accounts. This has changed as more women have gone out and fostered their own firms enabling them more opportunity and challenges. The report, though, points to another traditional escape hatch for professional women ". . . to the extent that law firms fail to retain women, in-house and government departments benefited from being able to hire from this talented pool." Others are simply not following law as a career path. "The flight of women from law comes when we are facing a looming lawyer shortage," says Berge. "Unless something changes, we will see a serious negative impact on public access to legal services as baby boomers retire, particularly in small communities." The report lands at the same time the B.C. legal system is attempting to provide more access to justice through pro bono and unbundling as many are unable to access lawyers or unable to afford legal advice. The task force recognizes that few B.C.-specific resources are Paralegal Studies Bachelor of Applied Arts A 4-year degree that will launch your career as a paralegal. Accredited as a paralegal education program by The Law Society of Upper Canada. • Become: Small Claims Court Agent • Provincial Offences Prosecutor • Legal Researcher Apply now! available to many firms. Larger, national firms are sharing infor- mation through the LSUC's Justicia Project, a three-year pilot of 50 participating firms to develop retention policies and strategies for women in private practice. It suggests a similar think tank be created for smaller or mid-sized firms in B.C. The task force recommends the current locum program should meet the needs of women in practice with support for leaves and also by encouraging women to seek this type of contract work. The implementation of a maternity loan pilot program should be expidited, promoted, and monitored over two years. The 2007 approved program, once implemented, would see birth mothers able to draw $2,000 a month for four months to cover overheads for sole practicioners during the maternity leave period. While also urging that equity policies be followed in strik- ing LSBC committees, the task force proposed that the equity ombudsperson program should continue "educational efforts, particularly in relation to sexual discrimination and harassment, which continue to be the most significant problems reported." The business case model and the complete report are available at the LSBC's web site at business.humber.ca Untitled-2 1 10 OC T O BER 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com 9/11/09 11:28:35 AM — JEAN SORENSEN jean_sorensen@telus.net www.lawsociety.bc.ca/publica- tions_forms/report-committees/docs/ Retention-of-womenTF.pdf